Studies for future satellite missions

The EarthCARE satellite is a joint mission by the European and Japanese Space Agencies scheduled for launch in 2016. The spacecraft will have four instruments: the Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) with Doppler capability, the high spectral resolution Lidar (ATLID) and Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) and the Broad-Band Radiometer (BBR). The satellite measurements will be used to retrieve global profiles of cloud, aerosol, and precipitation properties and along with Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) Long- and Short-wave fluxes.

The main objects of the ESA-project IRMA is the development of EarthCARE L2 data products and algorithms for Multi Spectral Imager (MSI) stand alone and ATLID synergistic products.

The MSI will measure the thermal radiance emitted by the Earth and the backscattered solar radiation in seven specified spectral channels (see Fig1).

Model des MSI-Instruments

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MSI is nadir-viewing pushbroom. The spatial resolution of 500x500m² is particularly impressive in view of the required signal-noise ratio. The MSI will have a swath width of 150 km, asymmetrically tilted from the sun, -35 km to 115 km relative to nadir.

The cloud microphysical retrieval based on the combination of the non-absorbing visible (0.6 µm, 0.8 µm) channels and the absorbing near infrared (1.6µm, 2.2µm) channels. MSI has no dedicated channel for cloud top detection therefor the cloud top height retrieval is limited to the infrared window-channels. A synergetic cloud top height is developed by using the information of the ATLID to improve the retrieval. Additionally synergetic analysis using the ATLID and MSI are developed using data from CALIOP and MODIS (Fig2).

Fig. 02: Illustration of a 3d EarthCARE scene based on CALIOP and MODIS data 2 January 2007. Source: Anja Hünerbein/TROPOS